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Rock star Bono met with Dot Helms, the widow of former Sen. Jesse Helms, before Saturday night's U2 concert in Raleigh, to express his appreciation for the late senator's work to combat AIDS in Africa.

The two men had formed an unlikely alliance and friendship during Helms' final years in the Senate, and Bono asked for a chance to meet with Dot Helms during his Raleigh concert, Rob Christensen reports.

At a back stage meeting, Bono greeted Dot Helms warmly and said it was because of "Jesse" that more than 3 million children are alive and on anti-retroviral drugs today in Africa, according to Jimmy Broughton, Helms' former chief of staff, who accompanied Dot Helms.

Dot Helms did not stay for the concert, but she was accompanied by several of her grandchildren who did.

Dot Helms was deeply touched and delighted to see Bono, according to Broughton, and said she hoped other senators were helping him with his efforts for global AIDS relief.

North Carolina's presidential ball is a product of former rivals.

Debby Bryant ran Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt's office in Washington, while Jimmy Broughton was a top aide to Sen. Jesse Helms. Both are planning the N.C. State Society's Inaugural Ball next month.

The society is designed to be a nonpartisan group of North Carolinians leaving politics at the door in a city obsessed with partisanship and politics.

It is hosting 1,800 Tar Heels at a Jan. 19 ball at the Marriott Wardman Park, a historic hotel that once housed members of Congress such as Broughton's grandfather, U.S. Sen. J. Melville Broughton.

It is one of dozens of dances and balls held that night. The group has been holding balls for new presidents since 1989. (Char-O)

The N.C. Military Foundation spent $49,000 on lobbying in 2007.

According to state and federal lobbying disclosure forms, the nonprofit started by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue to promote defense spending in North Carolina spent about a quarter of its consulting budget on lobbyists in its first full year.

With a tight budget, the group relies heavily on outside consultants, including two lobbyists, Jimmy Broughton and Mark Harkins. Executive Director Will Austin also does some lobbying of state government, and lobbyist John Mashburn also did some work in 2007.

The lobbyists are a bipartisan group.

Broughton is a former chief of staff to Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, Mashburn was general counsel to Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, Harkins was chief of staff to Democratic Rep. Brad Miller, and Austin was an assistant to Democratic Sen. John Edwards.

Broughton, Harkins and Mashburn work for Raleigh firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

In 2007, the foundation reported spending $9,340 for Broughton and Austin to lobby the state government, and $40,000 for Broughton, Harkins and Mashburn to lobby the federal government.

That year, it spent about $212,000 on outside consultants.

Who is consulting for the N.C. Military Foundation?

The nonprofit started by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in 2006 to promote defense spending in North Carolina runs on a tight budget, relying on outside consultants.

Here's a quick sketch of their major consultants:

Retired Major Gen. Mike Davidson: Former assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Gen. Hugh Shelton.

Hon. Mike Walker: Former acting Secretary of the Army in 1998 and Undersecretary of Defense.

Meg Ryan O'Donnell: President of Winning Strategies, a Raleigh communications firm.

Jimmy Broughton: Former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms and federal lobbyist with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

Mark Harkins: Former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Brad Miller and lobbyist with Womble Carlyle.

As lobbyists on military issues, Broughton and Harkins also work for Blackwater Worldwide, a controversial security contractor based in Moyock.

Executive Director Will Austin says he met with Blackwater in the past, but the foundation does not typically promote specific military contractors, instead focusing on the state's overall military friendliness.

"We don't have a relationship with them," he said.

Blackwater has hired North Carolina's biggest and most powerful law firm as its new lobbyist in Washington.

Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice has signed up five lobbyists to work for the private security contractor, including Jimmy Broughton, former chief of staff for archconservative Sen. Jesse Helms; Mark Harkins, former chief of staff for Rep. Brad Miller, a liberal Democrat; and John Mashburn, former general counsel for Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

The lobbyists will have plenty of work: Blackwater relies on the U.S. government for more than 90 percent of its revenue. Blackwater is under investigation for the Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilian dead. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been digging into Blackwater's finances and conduct in Iraq and elsewhere.

Womble's mascot is Winston the Bulldog. Hopefully Winston will get along better with Blackwater than the New York Times dog.

Crossposted from Joe Neff's Blackwater Current blog.